Negative affect repair questionnaire (NARQ) : development and validation of an instrument assessing negative affect regulation strategies

摘要

A reliable instrument for the assessment of a wide range of cognitive and behavioral affect regulation strategies is not only of major relevance for healthy people but also for patients with mental disorders. The results of the present thesis suggest that the Negative Affect Repair Questionnaire (NARQ) is a well-defined and a reliable instrument for the assessment of affect regulation strategies, particularly in clinical populations. Findings to the prevalence of negative affect repair strategies in patients with MDD emphasize the importance of negative affect regulation in the psychopathology of depression. The aim of study one was the investigation of the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the new developed Negative Affect Repair Questionnaire (NARQ) which assesses clinical-relevant aspects in more detail. The NARQ was developed and psychometrically evaluated in a sample of 105 patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 120 non-psychiatric patients. The theoretically assumed factor structure based on the developmental approach of Saarni (1999) provided a better solution than the empirically derived factor structure of the NARQ. The theoretically derived factor structure of the NARQ consists of four factors: cognitive regulation strategies, calming and distractive strategies, social regulation strategies, and externalizing strategies (e.g. self harm, drug use). Reliability scores (Cronbach’s alpha) for the four NARQ factors ranged between .63 and .79. Discriminant validity results demonstrated the independence of most scales and the Beck Depression (BDI) score. A higher positive correlation was found between externalizing strategies and BDI scores. Deficits in negative affect regulation are considered to play a central role in the development and maintenance of major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, in a second study the self-reported negative affect repair strategies of 104 patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and of 121 healthy control participants were compared to determine the prevalence of negative affect repair strategies. Patients with MDD overall reported fewer use of affect repair strategies compared with healthy controls. They used less frequently cognitive regulation strategies, calming/ distractive strategies and social regulation strategies than controls. In contrast, externalizing strategies (e.g., substance abuse, self-harm) were more frequently found in patients with MDD than controls. These findings emphasize the importance of negative affect repair strategies in the psychopathology of patients with MDD.